Glover Teixeira made himself the number one contender in the light heavyweight division at UFC Vegas 13 with his win over Thiago Santos. Dana White even admitted after the fight that Teixeira had made a case for the next title shot instead of Isreal Adesanya. Of course, what actually happens remains to be seen. Today we will be looking at what is next for the winners of UFC Vegas 13.
Glover Teixeira
Even though Dana White admitted Teixeira deserved the next shot it is very likely the UFC lets Adesanya get the next shot at Jan Blachowicz. The UFC loves marketing double champions. Teixeira should undoubtedly be next in line after that fight though.
Teixeira’s next fight: Winner of Blachowicz-Adesanya
Andrei Arlovski
Andrei Arlovski turned back the hands of time by defeating rising star Tanner Boser this past Saturday. Arlovski looked great landing some big shots that seemed like they would put Boser down throughout the fight. Both men looked a little gun shy at times but Arlovski definitely proved that his time in the UFC is far from over. Tai Tuivasa has a win over Arlovski in 2018. Since Tuivasa has just been resigned to the UFC and is looking to prove himself in the company, it would be great to see him grant Arlovski a rematch. Tuivasa has nine of his ten wins by knockout with the only win not by knockout being to Arlovski. Much to be gained by both men with this rematch.
Arlovski’s next fight: Rematch with Tai Tuivasa
Raoni Barcelos
Raoni Barcelos defeated Khalid Taha via unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 13. In a Fight of the Night performance, Barcelos showed he has the talent to fight someone in the top ten in the bantamweight division. Merab Dvalishvili went to Twitter after the fight to call for a fight with Barcelos. This would be a great match-up given Barcelos has great grappling and powerful strikes. Dvalishvili also has made a name for himself as being a dominant grappler and having power in his hands. This pairing seems like fate as Dvalishvili’s December bout with Cody Stamann was recently scrapped due to a withdrawal by Stamann.
Barcelos’ next fight: Merab Dvalishvili
Giga Chikadze
Giga Chikadze scored a big head kick knockout over Jamey Simmons this past weekend. Bringing Chikadze to 5-0 in the UFC as a result. After his fight, he called out either Arnold Allen or Jeremy Stephens. He also asked Dana White for a co-main event slot in his next fight. White confirmed that it makes sense to him and he will be looking to book him as a co-main event in his next fight. Giga Chikadze versus Jeremy Stephens just screams violence. Any fight fan will tell you that is the fight they want to see next.
Chikadze’s next fight: Jeremy Stephens
Yan Xiaonan
Yan Xiaonan won a very decisive decision win over Claudia Gadelha at UFC Vegas 13. Besides an early takedown that amounted to almost no damage, Claudia Gadelha did not really have any other bright spots in this fight. While Xiaonan was able to outstrike Gadelha while stuffing all of her takedowns in the final round. A lot of fans have been calling for Xiaonan to get the next title shot. The reality is though that she only has one win inside the top five. She should get another fight with someone in the top five and if she wins that fight she definitely deserves a title shot. If Joanna Jedrzejcyk is planning on coming back soon, that would be the perfect opponent for Xiaonan. It would be another possible fight of the year if Jedrzejcyk fights as she did in her fight with Weili Zhang.
Xiaonan’s next fight: Joanna Jedrzejcyk
